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Monday, May 7, 2007

Then and Now

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer spoke out against the World War II era internment of Japanese-Americans this weekend, but his message carried implications far beyond the internment camps sanctioned by the court in Korematsu v. U.S. (1944). One comment by Breyer particularly resonated:

We should have a tough law protecting civil liberties; and if the president thinks that it has to be broken, save the country, he’ll break it. I used to rather sympathize with that point of view, but I don’t anymore. (Italics added.)

With many challenges to recent executive power grabs poised to be heard by the high court—including appeals by non-citizens who are being indefinitely detained at Guantanamo Bay—we hope that his colleagues on the court are similarly persuaded.